Mobile robots have been known for quite some time both in the realm of science fiction and now in the real world. A first category of such robots are manually controlled. From a stationary location separated from the robot, it is controlled by wire or by wireless communication to carry out operations which are sometimes dangerous to man. A second category of these robots are automatically controlled. In a first aspect, these robots are arranged to automatically follow a track, which sometimes is invisible. Such a robot carries means for steering along a predefined track. In a second more sophisticated aspect of these mobile robots, they are equipped with an onboard computer by which they perform tasks of their own by a preprogrammed calculation.
Among the automatic robots there are specially two kinds: the track-finding robot and the border-finding robot, or combinations of the two. The track-finding robot carries means for finding a track, which in most cases is a buried wire that radiates a magnetic field. In yet another embodiment of this system, the track-finding means comprises a navigation system from which the robot finds out the predetermined track. The border-finding robot is typically an automatic lawn mower or an automatic vacuum cleaner. These robots sometimes carry a semi-autonomous system to find its paths and the location for battery recharging. They normally carry an onboard computer that is programmed to organize the planning of paths for efficient lawn mowing or vacuum cleaning. Thus, the only self-governing decisions to make is turning aside when an obstacle projects in front or if the robot has reached the border of the operation area. These robots are designed to perform one dedicated operation only and cannot be used for other operations. Although these robots are very costly to produce, they stay inactive most of the time. Thus, there is a need for a self-governed robot that performs a plurality of operations.
Automated guided vehicles (AGV), such as an automatic forklift, are commonly used for picking up and delivering goods or parts in a locality such as a warehouse or a factory. These vehicles are usually guided by floor loops or tracks. Vehicles of this kind are specially made for specific retrieving transporting and depositing tasks. A system including a plurality of such automated guided vehicles is often expensive. It has limited utility and is only feasible when a task is to be performed a huge number of times. It is, however, advantageous where manual performance is less reliable, extremely expensive or hazardous to humans. Due to the expense and difficulty of installing such systems, as well as safety and obstacle considerations, they have not found much widespread use outside the manufacturing industry.
In other areas, wheeled service robots have been afforded greater interest in recent years. One example is a camera and sensor equipped robot designed for security patrols. Others are designed to defuse explosives while still another is designed to be a tour guide. Robots of this kind are designed to be mail and goods couriers, hotel servants and also garbage collectors. Other robots are specially designed to perform tasks in dangerous radioactive environments. Each of these known robots is made for a specific operation or a limited number of closely related operations. Attempts have been made to combine a plurality of operation possibilities to one robot only. Such a robot must then at all times carry around equipment for performing different operations, yet only one piece of equipment is used at a time. This leads to heavy and clumsy robots that demand much power.
Through U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,948 an apparatus for performing radiological surveys is previously known. The object of the apparatus, which is an autonomous robot, is to eliminate the survey being performed by manual scanning. Thus, an autonomous robot is provided, which is directed by wireless transmission from a stationary host computer to perform a survey along a predefined path. On an operation command of going “from point a to point b”, the program in the host computer sorts through its database of action files to find a path between the points. The host computer then downloads the most efficient path to the robot, which has an onboard computer. Once a path is downloaded, the robot acts autonomously until it reaches the end of the path. Typically the environment where the robot operated is made up of well-defined, unobstructed smooth surfaces.
The actual path planning is done by a host computer, not by the robot. To program the robot the operator first defines valid points in the area where the robot is to operate. Then the robot automatically finds its way along the path with the help of sensors mounted on the robot. Since the actions of the robot always are preprogrammed, the robot can not be regarded as being autonomous but merely automatic. There are no instances where the robot makes its own choice on where to go. All of its actions are programmed in advance.
The known robot is dedicated for one operation only. When not in use, the robot is resting at a docking station where it is recharged. Thus, an enormous amount of money is spent on a product which most of the time is resting and not given credit for. The performance is also very poor. The normal speed of the robot is about 9 meters per hour.
In an environment where the situation in which the robot must perform has moving people and objects in it, such as hospitals or the home, the robot must be able to make quick decisions to avoid collision with moving or temporary objects blocking its way. Not only must such a robot learn to navigate in a new environment, but must also quickly adapt to changes in the environment. These robots must also have special safety and avoidance mechanisms. An autonomous wheeled robot of this kind is previously known and designed to perform material transport operations in a hospital environment. In response to keyed-in commands, it transports pharmaceuticals, lab specimens, supplies, meals, medical records and radiology films. It has specific built-in compartments and trays for these tasks. This operation-dedicated robot has built-in sensors and a collision avoidance system to be able to perform in an environment with moving people and objects.
Providing a robot for general purposes having all of the above mentioned features will be very expensive due to development and maintenance costs for hardware and software. There are few individual applications outside of the manufacturing industry where these costs will not make the robot very expensive or will employ a robot which is used only occasionally. There are a great number of short duration tasks in the home, hospitals, laboratories and offices etc. where it would be desirable to have a robot, but where a separate operation-dedicated robot for each task would be unfeasible.